One of my favorite scriptures on generosity is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6–7. There, the Apostle Paul states:
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
One of the greatest hallmarks of true Christianity is generosity. The Bible tells us true happiness is found when we give. And when we give, we are simply imitating God who is the biggest giver of them all. As the Scripture says, “For God so the loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son . . .” (John 3:16).
It can be tempting to slow your giving to the work of the Gospel when you are dealing with a time of lack. But this is a dangerous practice to get into because the Bible tells us that God watches how we use the money that He places into our lives as a way to examine our hearts.
The money that has entered your life is a test, pure and simple. We know that God owns everything. Everything is His, including the money sitting in your bank account. He is not a tyrant that demands all of your money. Instead, He is a loving Father who knows what’s best for His children. And He knows that the greatest joy in the world is found in giving of ourselves and our resources for His divine purposes.
The first thing we must do is change our thinking on giving. Our beliefs on Christian giving have been beaten into us many times by well-meaning preachers who need funds to pay a utility bill and who view you, not God, as their source. As such, they ask you to reach deep down into your pocket to receive God’s “extra special” blessings.
This is absurd and must end. Love of money has destroyed houses of worship all across America. The greed that proliferates so many modern churches today is evident by the nearly 8,000 denominations of modern Protestantism… That’s 8,000 money purses that don’t have to be shared in unity towards our common goal of the Great Commission.
God is not concerned with how much you give.
Instead, what He cares about is what your gift costs you.
Again, God is not impressed with the size of your gift. You can’t impress God with your filthy rags.
The reason God cares about what your gift costs you, and not about the size of the gift, is because giving is worship.
But for the act of giving to truly become an act of worship, it must cost something.
You can give, but not worship… But it is impossible to worship, and not give.
Obviously, if worship must be commanded, then it is not truly worship.
Think about it this way:
• When you give because you have to… it is law.
• When you give because you feel like you need to… it is an obligation.
• But when you give simply because you want to out of the depths of your heart… it is love.
If you are currently giving to a church or to a ministry, examine why you are giving to that particular ministry.
Are you giving simply because you feel like you have to?
Or because you need to?
Or are you giving because you simply want to bless the Lord with your gift?
Additionally, if you are not currently giving any money to further the cause of Christ, you should search your heart to find out why you are not giving.
Eliminate every obstacle to giving.
It has been said that Christians show who they are by what they do with what they have. That is true because “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21)
Best wishes,
Jerry Robinson
